Methods of forming a memory cell material, and related methods of forming a semiconductor device structure, memory cell materials, and semiconductor device structures

ABSTRACT

A method of forming a memory cell material comprises forming a first portion of a dielectric material over a substrate by atomic layer deposition. Discrete conductive particles are formed on the first portion of the dielectric material by atomic layer deposition. A second portion of the dielectric material is formed on and between the discrete conductive particles by atomic layer deposition. A memory cell material, a method of forming a semiconductor device structure, and a semiconductor device structure are also described.

FIELD

The disclosure, in various embodiments, relates generally to the fieldof semiconductor device design and fabrication. More specifically, thedisclosure relates to methods of forming a memory cell material, and torelated methods of forming a semiconductor device structure, memory cellmaterials, and semiconductor device structures.

BACKGROUND

Integrated circuit designers often desire to increase the level ofintegration or density of elements within an integrated circuit byreducing the size of the individual elements and by reducing theseparation distance between neighboring elements. In addition,integrated circuit designers often desire to design architectures thatare not only compact, but offer performance advantages, as well assimplified designs.

A relatively common integrated circuit device is a memory device. Amemory device may include a memory array having a number of memory cellsarranged in a grid pattern. One type of memory cell is a resistivememory cell, such as a resistive random access memory (RRAM) cell, whichstores data by switching between electrical resistance states. Forexample, for binary data storage, a high-resistance state of theresistive memory cell may be read as logical “1,” while a low-resistancestate of the resistive memory cell may be read as logical “0.” Switchingbetween resistance states may be achieved by applying different physicalsignals (e.g., voltage, current, etc.) across the resistive memory cell.

There is continuing interest in the development of methodologies bywhich memory cell (e.g., resistive memory cell) dimensions can be scaleddown to realize higher density memory devices (e.g., resistive memorydevices) and form higher capacity electronic devices and systems.Unfortunately, scaling down memory cell dimensions to increase memorydevice density can result in problems, such as undesirable electricalcoupling effects.

It would, therefore, be desirable to have improved methods andstructures that facilitate scaling down memory cell dimensions to formhigher density memory devices while mitigating problems (e.g., adverseelectrical coupling effects) conventionally associated with scaling downmemory cell dimensions to form higher density memory devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of a semiconductordevice structure, in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an electronic system inaccordance with embodiments of the disclosure.

FIGS. 3A through 3C are scanning electron micrographs of discreteconductive particles formed on a dielectric material in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure, as described below in Example 1.

FIG. 4 is a transmission electron micrograph showing a partialcross-sectional view of a memory cell material formed in accordance withembodiments of the disclosure, as described below in Example 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods of forming a memory cell material (e.g., a resistive memory cellmaterial) by atomic layer deposition (ALD) are disclosed, as are relatedmethods of forming semiconductor device structures, related memory cellmaterials, and related semiconductor device structures. As used herein,the term “atomic layer deposition” or “ALD” means and includes a vapordeposition process in which a plurality of separate deposition cyclesare conducted in a chamber. ALD includes, but is not limited to, atomiclayer epitaxy (ALE), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), gas source MBE,organometallic MBE, and chemical beam epitaxy when performed withalternating pulses of precursors and purge (i.e., inert) gases. In someembodiments, a portion of a dielectric material is formed on or over asubstrate by an ALD process, discrete (e.g., separate, isolated, spaced)conductive particles are formed by an ALD process on or over the portionof the dielectric material, and at least one other portion of thedielectric material is formed on or over the discrete conductiveparticles by an ALD process. At least a portion of the discreteconductive particles may be formed on the portion of the dielectricmaterial by adsorbing conductive material precursors to a surface of theportion of the dielectric material, and then reacting the adsorbedconductive material precursors with at least one of additionalconductive material precursors and a separate reactant. Optionally, atleast one additional portion of the discrete conductive particles may beformed on or over the at least one other portion of the dielectricmaterial by an ALD process, and at least one additional portion of thedielectric material may be formed on or over the at least one additionalportion of the discrete conductive particles by an ALD process.Different portions of the dielectric material may be formed from thesame material as or a different material than one another, and differentportions of the discrete conductive particles may be the same materialas or a different material than one another. The memory cell materialmay be used as a thin film for a semiconductor device structure, such asa memory device structure (e.g., a resistive memory cell, such as a RRAMcell). The methods disclosed herein may facilitate scaling, performance,and stability improvements in semiconductor device structures (e.g.,memory cells) and semiconductor devices (e.g., memory devices) includinga memory cell material.

The following description provides specific details, such as materialcompositions and processing conditions, in order to provide a thoroughdescription of embodiments of the present disclosure. However, a personof ordinary skill in the art would understand that the embodiments ofthe present disclosure may be practiced without employing these specificdetails. Indeed, the embodiments of the present disclosure may bepracticed in conjunction with conventional semiconductor fabricationtechniques employed in the industry. In addition, the descriptionprovided below does not form a complete process flow for manufacturing asemiconductor device. The semiconductor device structures describedbelow do not form a complete semiconductor device. Only those processacts and structures necessary to understand the embodiments of thepresent disclosure are described in detail below. Additional acts toform a complete semiconductor device from the semiconductor devicestructures may be performed by conventional fabrication techniques. Alsonote, any drawings presented herein are for illustrative purposes only,and are thus not drawn to scale. Additionally, elements common betweenfigures may retain the same numerical designation.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations ofone or more of the associated listed items.

As used herein, any relational term, such as “first,” “second,” “over,”“under,” “on,” “underlying,” “upper,” “lower,” etc., is used for clarityand convenience in understanding the disclosure and accompanyingdrawings and does not connote or depend on any specific preference,orientation, or order, except where the context clearly indicatesotherwise.

As used herein, the ten “substantially” in reference to a givenparameter, property, or condition means and includes to a degree thatone of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the givenparameter, property, or condition is met with a degree of variance, suchas within acceptable manufacturing tolerances. By way of example,depending on the particular parameter, property, or condition that issubstantially met, the parameter, property, or condition may be at least90.0% met, at least 95.0% met, at least 99.0% met, or even at least99.9% met.

FIG. 1 is simplified partial cross-sectional view illustrating asemiconductor device structure 100 formed in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure. The semiconductor device structure 100 mayinclude a substrate 102 and a memory cell material 104. The memory cellmaterial 104 may be formed on or over the substrate 102. As used herein,the term “substrate” means and includes a base material or constructionupon which additional materials are formed. The substrate 102 may be asemiconductor substrate, a base semiconductor layer on a supportingstructure, a metal electrode, or a semiconductor substrate having one ormore materials, structures, or regions formed thereon. Previous processacts may have been conducted to form materials, regions, or junctions inthe base semiconductor structure or foundation. The substrate 102 may bea conventional silicon substrate or other bulk substrate comprising alayer of semiconductive material. As used herein, the term “bulksubstrate” means and includes not only silicon wafers, but alsosilicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates, such as silicon-on-sapphire (SOS)substrates and silicon-on-glass (SOG) substrates, epitaxial layers ofsilicon on a base semiconductor foundation, and other semiconductor oroptoelectronic materials, such as silicon-germanium, germanium, galliumarsenide, gallium nitride, and indium phosphide. The substrate 102 maybe doped or undoped. By way of non-limiting example, the substrate 102may comprise at least one of silicon, silicon dioxide, silicon withnative oxide, silicon nitride, a carbon-containing silicon nitride,glass, semiconductor, metal oxide, metal, a titanium nitride, acarbon-containing titanium nitride, tantalum, a tantalum nitride, acarbon-containing tantalum nitride, niobium, a niobium nitride, acarbon-containing niobium nitride, molybdenum, a molybdenum nitride, acarbon-containing molybdenum nitride, tungsten, a tungsten nitride, acarbon-containing tungsten nitride, copper, cobalt, nickel, iron,aluminum, and a noble metal.

The memory cell material 104 is formed of and includes discreteconductive particles 106 dispersed in a dielectric material 108. Thediscrete conductive particles 106 may be positioned (e.g., located,disposed) on at least one surface of the dielectric material 108, suchas on an upper surface of at least one portion of the dielectricmaterial 108. For example, as depicted in FIG. 1, a first portion 106 aof the discrete conductive particles 106 may be positioned on an uppersurface 110 of a first portion 108 a of the dielectric material 108, anda second portion 108 b of the dielectric material 108 may be positionedon or over the first portion 106 a of the discrete conductive particles106. Accordingly, the first portion 106 a of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 may be positioned vertically between the first portion 108a of the dielectric material 108 and the second portion 108 b of thedielectric material 108. As used herein, each of the terms “vertical”and “longitudinal” means and includes extending in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the substrate 102, regardless of theorientation of the substrate 102. Conversely, as used herein, each ofthe terms “horizontal” and “lateral” means and includes extending in adirection substantially parallel to the substrate 102, regardless of theorientation of the substrate 102. Furthermore, additional portions ofthe discrete conductive particles 106 and the dielectric material 108may, optionally, be positioned on or over the second portion 108 b ofthe dielectric material 108. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a secondportion 106 b of the discrete conductive particles 106 may be positionedon an upper surface 112 of the second portion 108 b of the dielectricmaterial 108, and a third portion 108 c of the dielectric material 108may be positioned on or over the second portion 106 b of the discreteconductive particles 106. In addition, a third portion 106 c of thediscrete conductive particles 106 may be positioned on an upper surface114 of the third portion 108 c of the dielectric material 108, and afourth portion 108 d of the dielectric material 108 may be positioned onor over the third portion 106 c of the discrete conductive particles106.

While various embodiments herein describe or illustrate the memory cellmaterial 104 as including three portions (i.e., the portions 106 a, 106b, and 106 c) of the conductive particles 106 and four portions (i.e.,the portions 108 a, 108 b, 108 c, and 108 d) of the dielectric material108, the memory cell material 104 may, alternatively, include adifferent number of portions of the conductive particles 106 and/or adifferent number of portions of the dielectric material 108. Forexample, the memory cell material 104 may include a single portion(e.g., the portion 106 a) of the conductive particles 106 disposedvertically between two portions (e.g., the portions 108 a and 108 b) ofthe dielectric material 108, may include two portions (e.g., theportions 106 a and 106 b) of the conductive particles 106 and threeportions (e.g., the portions 108 a, 108 b, and 108 c) of the dielectricmaterial 108 in a vertically stacked and alternating relationshiprelative to one another, or may include greater than four portions ofthe conductive particles 106 and greater than five portions of the ofthe dielectric material 108 in a vertically stacked and alternatingrelationship relative to one another (e.g., greater than or equal tofive portions of the conductive particles 106, and greater than or equalto six portions of the of the dielectric material 108; greater than orequal to ten portions of the conductive particles 106, and greater thanor equal to eleven portions of the of the dielectric material 108;greater than or equal to twenty portions of the conductive particles106, and greater than or equal to twenty-one portions of the of thedielectric material 108).

The dielectric material 108 may be fainted of and include an oxidematerial (e.g., silicon dioxide, phosphosilicate glass, borosilicateglass, borophosphosilicate glass, fluorosilicate glass, titaniumdioxide, zirconium dioxide, hafnium dioxide, tantalum oxide, magnesiumoxide, aluminum oxide, a combination thereof), a nitride material (e.g.,silicon nitride), an oxynitride material (e.g., silicon oxynitride),amphorous carbon, or a combination thereof (e.g., a laminate of at leasttwo of the foregoing). In some embodiments, the dielectric material 108is SiO₂. Each of the different portions (e.g., each of the first portion108 a, the second portion 108 b, the third portion 108 c, and the fourthportion 108 d) of the dielectric material 108 may be formed of andinclude substantially the same material as one another (e.g., may havesubstantially the same material composition), or at least one of thedifferent portions of the dielectric material 108 may be formed of andinclude a different material (e.g., may have a different materialcomposition) than at least one other of the different portions of thedielectric material 108. As a non-limiting example, each of thedifferent portions of the dielectric material 108 may be formed of andinclude silicon dioxide (SiO₂). As another non-limiting example, each ofthe different portions of the dielectric material 108 may be formed ofand include silicon nitride (Si₃N₄). As a further non-limiting example,at least one of the different portions (e.g., the first portion 108 a)of the dielectric material 108 may be formed of and include SiO₂, and atleast one other the different portions (e.g., the second portion 108 b)of the dielectric material 108 may be formed of and include Si₃N₄. Insome embodiments, the different portions of the dielectric material 108are formed of and include at least one of SiO₂ and Si₃N₄. In addition,each of the different portions of the dielectric material 108 may beformed of and include a single dielectric material (e.g., SiO₂ orSi₃N₄), or at least one of the different portions of the dielectricmaterial 108 may be formed of and include multiple dielectric materials(e.g., SiO₂ and Si₃N₄). As a non-limiting example, at least one of thedifferent portions of the dielectric material 108 may comprise at leastone dielectric oxide film (e.g., an SiO₂ film) on or over at least onedielectric nitride film (e.g., a Si₃N₄ film). As another non-limitingexample, at least one of the different portions of the dielectricmaterial 108 may comprise at least one dielectric nitride film (e.g., aSi₃N₄ film) on or over at least one dielectric oxide film (e.g., a SiO₂film). As described in further detail below, the dielectric material108, including each of the different portions thereof, may be selectedat least partially based on the chemistry (e.g., chemically reactivegroups) of precursors utilized in at least one ALD process to form thediscrete conductive particles 106.

The dielectric material 108, including each of the different portionsthereof, may have any suitable thickness. The overall thickness of thedielectric material 108 may be selected based on the desired dimensionsand operational voltage range of the semiconductor device structure 100.By way of non-limiting example, the overall thickness of the dielectricmaterial 108 may be less than or equal to about 1000 Angstroms (Å), suchas less than or equal to about 500 Å, less than or equal to about 250 Å,less than or equal to about 100 Å, less than or equal to about 50 Å, orless than or equal to about 25 Å. A semiconductor device structure 100having a lower operational voltage range may exhibit a lower overallthickness and may include fewer portions (e.g., the first portion 108 a,and the second portion 108 b) as compared to a semiconductor devicestructure having a higher operational voltage range. In addition, thedifferent portions (e.g., the first portion 108 a, the second portion108 b, the third portion 108 c, and the fourth portion 108 d) of thedielectric material 108 may each independently have a desired thickness.By way of non-limiting example, the different portions of the dielectricmaterial 108 may each independently have a thickness of less than orequal to about 10 monolayers, such as less than or equal to about 8monolayers, less than or equal to about 5 monolayers, or less than orequal to about 3 monolayers. The different portions of the dielectricmaterial 108 may each have substantially the same thickness, or at leastone of the different portions of the dielectric material 108 may have adifferent thickness than at least one other of the different portions ofthe dielectric material 108. In some embodiments, the different portionsof the dielectric material 108 each independently have a thickness ofwithin a range of from about 3 monolayers to about 5 monolayers.

The discrete conductive particles 106 may be adsorbed (e.g., attached,bound) to at least one surface of the dielectric material 108. Forexample, different portions (e.g., the first portion 106 a, the secondportion 106 b, and the third portion 106 c) of the conductive particles106 may be adsorbed to the upper surfaces of different portions of thedielectric material 108 by way of at least one of chemisorption (alsoknown as “chemical adsorption”) and physisorption (also known as“physical adsorption”). As used herein, the terms “chemisorb” and“chemisorption” mean and include a mechanism wherein a material (e.g.,the discrete conductive particles 106) is adsorbed to at least onesurface (e.g., the upper surfaces 110, 112, and 114) of another material(e.g., the dielectric material 108) by way of chemical bonding, such ascovalent bonding or ionic bonding. In turn, as used herein, the terms“physisorb” and “physisorption” mean and include a mechanism wherein amaterial (e.g., the discrete conductive particles 106) is adsorbed to atleast one surface (e.g., the upper surfaces 110, 112, and 114) ofanother material (e.g., the dielectric material 108) by way of weakintermolecular forces, such as Van der Waals forces. As a non-limitingexample, as shown in FIG. 1, the first portion 106 a of the discreteconductive particles 106 may be chemisorbed or physisorbed to the uppersurface 110 of the first portion 108 a of the dielectric material 108,the second portion 106 b of the discrete conductive particles 106 may bechemisorbed or physisorbed to the upper surface 112 of the secondportion 108 b of the dielectric material 108, and the third portion 106c of the discrete conductive particles 106 may be chemisorbed orphysisorbed to the upper surface 114 of the third portion 108 c of thedielectric material 108. In some embodiments, different portions (e.g.,the first portion 106 a, the second portion 106 b, and the third portion106 c) of the conductive particles 106 are chemisorbed to the uppersurfaces of different portions of the dielectric material 108. Thus,different portions of the discrete conductive particles 106 may beinterposed (e.g., intercalated) between different portions of thedielectric material 108. For example, the first portion 106 a of theconductive particles 106 may be intercalated between the first portion108 a and the second portion 108 b of the dielectric material 108, thesecond portion 106 b of the conductive particles 106 may be intercalatedbetween the second portion 108 b and the third portion 108 c of thedielectric material 108, the third portion 106 c of the conductiveparticles 106 may be intercalated between the third portion 108 c andthe fourth portion 108 d of the dielectric material 108, and so on.

The discrete conductive particles 106 may be formed of at least oneconductive material, such as at least one conductive metal material. Asused herein, the term “metal material” means and includes an alkalimetal, an alkaline earth metal, a transition metal (e.g., titanium,zirconium, hafnium, vanadium, niobium, tantalum, chromium, molybdenum,tungsten, manganese, iron, ruthenium, rhenium, cobalt, rhodium, osmium,nickel, palladium, platinum, copper, silver, gold, zinc, cadmium, etc.),a post-transition metal (e.g., aluminum, gallium, indium, tin, lead,bismuth, etc.), a metalloid (e.g., boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic,antimony, etc.), conductive oxides thereof, conductive nitrides thereof,conductive carbides thereof, or combinations thereof. Each of thediscrete conductive particles 106 may include a single metal (e.g.,alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, transition metal, post-transitionmetal, metalloid) species, or may include multiple metal species (e.g.,a metal alloy). The conductive material of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 may be selected at least partially based on a desiredretention state charge loss of the discrete conductive particles 106. Insome embodiments, at least a portion of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 are independently formed of and include an elemental metal(e.g., an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, a transition metal, apost-transition metal, a metalloid), such as at least one of platinum(Pt), tantalum (Ta), ruthenium (Ru), rhodium (Rh), copper (Cu), aluminum(Al), and cobalt (Co). Each of the discrete conductive particles 106 maybe substantially free of dielectric material. For example, dielectricoxides (e.g., dielectric oxides of alkali metals, alkaline earth metals,transition metals, post-transition metals, and metalloids) may besubstantially absent from each of the discrete conductive particles 106.In some embodiments, each of the discrete conductive particles 106 isformed of and includes at least one metal resistant to oxidation (e.g.,platinum, rhodium, cobalt). In additional embodiments, at least aportion (e.g., substantially all) of the discrete conductive particles106 are substantially free of oxygen. In further embodiments, at least aportion of the discrete conductive particles 106 are formed of andinclude at least one metal that forms a conductive metal oxide uponoxidation (e.g., ruthenium). As described in further detail below, thediscrete conductive particles 106, including each of the differentportions thereof, may be selected at least partially based on thechemistry (e.g., chemically reactive groups) of precursors utilized inat least one ALD process to form the dielectric material 108.

Each of the discrete conductive particles 106 may have a desired size.The discrete conductive particles 106 may comprise, for example, aplurality of nanoparticles. As used herein the term “nanoparticle” meansand includes a particle having an average particle width or diametermeasured within the nanometer range (e.g., from about 0.3 nanometer toabout 1000 nanometers). By way of non-limiting example, each of thediscrete conductive particles 106 may independently have a diameterwithin a range of from about 0.3 nanometer (nm) to about 100 nm, such asfrom about 0.3 nm to about 50 nm, from about 0.3 nm to about 25 nm, fromabout 0.3 nm to about 10 nm, or from about 0.3 nm to about 5 nm. In someembodiments, each of the discrete conductive particles 106 independentlyhas a diameter within a range of from about 1 nm to about 5 nm. Inaddition, the discrete conductive particles 106 may each independentlyhave a desired shape, such as at least one of a substantially sphericalshape, a substantially hemispherical shape, a substantially ellipsoidalshape, or another shape appropriate for arrangement at atomic scale(e.g., a face-centered cubic arrangement, a hexagonal closed-packedarrangement, a rohmahedral arrangement). In some embodiments, each ofthe discrete conductive particles 106 has a substantially sphericalshape.

The memory cell material 104 may include a homogeneous distribution ofthe discrete conductive particles 106, or may include a heterogeneousdistribution of discrete conductive particles 106. For example, if eachof the discrete conductive particles 106 has substantially the samesize, shape, and material composition, the memory cell material 104 mayinclude a homogeneous distribution of the discrete conductive particles106, wherein the size, shape, and material composition of each of thediscrete conductive particles 106 is substantially the same throughoutthe longitudinal dimensions and the lateral dimensions of the memorycell material 104. Conversely, if at least one of the discreteconductive particles 106 has one or more of a different size, adifferent shape, and a different material composition than at least oneother of the discrete conductive particles 106, the memory cell material104 may have a heterogeneous distribution of the discrete conductiveparticles 106, wherein at least one of the size, shape, and materialcomposition of the discrete conductive particles 106 varies throughoutone or more of the longitudinal dimensions and the lateral dimensions ofthe memory cell material 104. The homogeneity or heterogeneity of thediscrete conductive particles 106 of the memory cell material 104 may besubstantially undetectable by visual detection, but may be detectable byconventional spectroscopy or spectrometry techniques.

In some embodiments, discrete conductive particles 106 located along thesame lateral plane within the memory cell material 104 are substantiallythe same (e.g., have substantially the same material composition, size,and shape) as one another, but are different (e.g., have a differentmaterial composition, a different size, and/or a different shape) thandiscrete conductive particles 106 located along at least one otherlateral plane within the memory cell material 104. For example, withreference to FIG. 1, the particles of the first portion 106 a (e.g.,each located along the same lateral plane defined by the upper surface110 of the first portion 108 a of the dielectric material 108) of thediscrete conductive particles 106 may exhibit substantially the samematerial composition, size, and shape as one another, but may exhibit atleast one of a different material composition, a different size, and adifferent shape than the particles of at least one of the second portion106 b (e.g., each located along the same lateral plane defined by theupper surface 112 of the second portion 108 b of the dielectric material108) and the third portion 106 c (e.g., each located along the samelateral plane defined by the upper surface 114 of the third portion 108c of the dielectric material 108) of the discrete conductive particles106. Thus, the discrete conductive particles 106 may be homogeneouslydistributed through the lateral dimensions of the memory cell material104, and may be heterogeneously distributed through the longitudinaldimensions of the memory cell material 104. In additional embodiments,all of the discrete conductive particles 106 within the memory cellmaterial 104 are substantially the same as one another.

As shown in FIG. 1, the discrete conductive particles 106 aresubstantially isolated from one another. Adjacent discrete conductiveparticles 106 located along the same lateral plane within the memorycell material 104 may be substantially uniformly laterally spaced. Thespace between the adjacent discrete conductive particles 106 may befilled with the dielectric material 108. For example, laterally adjacentparticles of the first portion 106 a of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 may be substantially uniformly spaced from one another bya first distance, and the spaces between the laterally adjacentparticles may be filled with the second portion 108 b of the dielectricmaterial 108. In turn, adjacent discrete conductive particles 106located along different lateral planes within the memory cell material104 may be longitudinally spaced from another by the thickness of theportion of the dielectric material longitudinally therebetween. Forexample, the particles of first portion 106 a of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 may be longitudinally spaced from the particles of secondportion 106 b of the discrete conductive particles 106 by the thicknessof the second portion 108 b of the dielectric material 108 locatedlongitudinally therebetween. In addition, the lateral spacing ofdiscrete conductive particles 106 located along different lateral planeswithin the memory cell material 104 may be substantially the same or maybe different. For example, the lateral spacing of the particles of firstportion 106 a of the discrete conductive particles 106 may be the sameas or different than the lateral spacing of the particles of the secondportion 106 b of the discrete conductive particles 106 and/or the thirdportion 106 c of the discrete conductive particles 106. Furthermore, thediscrete conductive particles 106 of different lateral planes within thememory cell material 104 may be at least partially laterally offset fromone another. For example, at least some of the particles of the firstportion 106 a of the discrete conductive particles 106 may belongitudinally unaligned (e.g., staggered) with the particles of thesecond portion 106 b of the discrete conductive particles 106 mostproximate thereto. The longitudinal misalignment of the discreteconductive particles 106 of different adjacent lateral planes (e.g., thediscrete conductive particles 106 of the first portion 106 a and of thesecond portion 106 b; the discrete conductive particles 106 of thesecond portion 106 b and of the third portion 106 c) within the memorycell material 104 may prevent the formation of stacked weakness pathswithin the memory cell material 104.

Accordingly, a memory cell material of the disclosure comprises a firstportion of a dielectric material over a substrate, discrete conductiveparticles over the first portion of the dielectric material, at least aportion of the discrete conductive particles adsorbed to a surface ofthe first portion of the dielectric material, and a second portion of adielectric material on and between the at least a portion of thediscrete conductive particles.

Furthermore, a semiconductor device structure of the disclosurecomprises a memory cell material on a substrate and comprising at leastthree vertically adjacent portions of a dielectric material, anddiscrete conductive particles interposed between each of the at leastthree vertically adjacent portions of a dielectric material.

The memory cell material 104 may be formed on or over the substrate 102by ALD. ALD provides a nucleation mechanism for forming the discreteconductive particles 106. In addition, forming the memory cell material104 by ALD may facilitate control of transitions (e.g., boundaries,interfaces) between different materials (e.g., between differentportions of the dielectric material 108, and between different portionsof the dielectric material 108 and the discrete conductive particles106). As a result of such control, the memory cell material 104 may haveengineered transitions amongst the various internal components thereof(e.g., the discrete conductive particles 106, the dielectric material108) and with the other components of the semiconductor device structure100 (e.g., the substrate 102). The ALD-based formation of the memorycell material 104 may include at least two ALD-based dielectricformation processes and at least one ALD-based conductive particleformation process. The ALD-based dielectric formation processes and theALD-based conductive particle formation process may be conducted insequence and in repetition to form the memory cell material 104 to adesired thickness. For example, with reference to FIG. 1, a firstALD-based dielectric formation process may be used to form the firstportion 108 a of the dielectric material 108 on the substrate 102, anALD-based conductive particle formation process may be used to form(e.g., chemisorb) the first portion 106 a of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 on the upper surface 110 of the first portion 108 a of thedielectric material 108, a second ALD-based dielectric formation processmay be used to form the second portion 108 b of the dielectric material108 on exposed surfaces of the first portion 106 a of the discreteconductive particles 106 and the first portion 108 a of the dielectricmaterial 108, and so on.

The ALD-based dielectric formation processes may include conductingalternating pulses of at least one dielectric material precursor and atleast one dielectric-material-forming reactant, with intervening pulsesof at least one inert gas (e.g., nitrogen, argon, helium, neon, krypton,xenon, and/or other gases that, although not inert, behave as inertunder the conditions of the dielectric formation process). Thedielectric material precursor may comprise an organometallic compoundincluding a complex of metal (e.g., Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W,Mn, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, Au, Zn, Cd, B, Al, Ga,In, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, As, Sb, Bi, or a combination thereof) and at leastone ligand formulated to react with the dielectric-material-formingreactant to form at least a portion the dielectric material 108. Thedielectric material precursor may be commercially available or may besynthesized by conventional techniques. As a non-limiting example, thedielectric material precursor may comprise a silicon-containingprecursor including silicon and at least one ligand comprising one ormore of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon, such as at least one of adisilane (e.g., hexachlorodisilane) and trisilyamine. As anothernon-limiting example, the dielectric material precursor may comprise analuminum-containing precursor including aluminum and at least one ligandcomprising one or more of hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon, such as leastone of trimethylaluminum (TMA), trisobutylaluminum (TIBA),dimethylaluminum hydride (DMAH), and another alane. In some embodiments,the dielectric material precursor is TMA.

The dielectric-material-forming reactant may be selected based on thechemical properties (e.g., metal species, ligands) of the dielectricmaterial precursor. For example, depending on the chemical properties ofthe dielectric material precursor, the dielectric-material-formingreactant may comprise at least one of an oxidizing agent (e.g., oxygen,ozone, water, hydrogen peroxide, nitrous oxide), and a nitridizing agent(e.g., ammonia, hydrazine). In some embodiments, thedielectric-material-forming reactant is at least one of water (H₂O),oxygen (O₂), and ammonia (NH₃).

The metal of the dielectric material precursor and thedielectric-material-forming reactant interact (e.g., react) with eachother and eliminate the ligand(s) of the dielectric material precursorduring the dielectric formation processes. Depending on the chemistry ofthe precursors used to form the dielectric material 108 (i.e., includingthe different portions thereof), additional reaction gases may beutilized to form one or more portions of the dielectric material 108.

The same precursors (e.g., the same dielectric material precursor andthe same dielectric-material-forming reactant) or different precursors(e.g., at least one different dielectric material precursor, and/or atleast one different dielectric-material-forming reactant) may be used toform different portions (e.g., at least two of the first portion 108 a,the second portion 108 b, the third portion 108 c, the fourth portion108 d) of the dielectric material 108. In some embodiments, differentprecursors are used to form at least two different portions of thedielectric material 108. In addition, the same inert gas or differentinert gases may be provided (e.g., pulsed) between the different pulsesof the dielectric material precursor(s) and thedielectric-material-forming reactant(s) to form different portions(e.g., at least two of the first portion 108 a, the second portion 108b, the third portion 108 c, the fourth portion 108 d) of the dielectricmaterial 108. In some embodiments, the inert gas utilized to form atleast one of the portions of the dielectric material 108 is differentthat the inert gas utilized to form at least one other of the portionsof the dielectric material 108.

One or more of the precursors of the dielectric formation processes(e.g., the dielectric material precursor, and/or thedielectric-material-forming reactant) may be in a solid, liquid, orgaseous form at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. If theprecursors are in a solid or liquid form at room temperature andatmospheric pressure, the precursors may be vaporized before beingintroduced to exposed components of the semiconductive device structure100. Vaporization of the precursors may be accomplished by conventionaltechniques, which are not described in detail herein.

Selection of the precursors for a given portion of the dielectricmaterial 108 may depend on the desired properties of the memory cellmaterial 104, on the other components of the memory cell material 104,and on the temperature at which the ALD-based dielectric formationprocess associated therewith is conducted. The precursors utilized toform the dielectric material 108, including the different portionsthereof, are selected to be compatible with the various components ofthe memory cell material 104 exposed to the precursors during theALD-based dielectric formation process. As used herein, the term“compatible” means and includes that a material does not react, breakdown, or absorb another material in an unintended way, and also does notimpair the chemical and/or mechanical properties of the another materialin an unintended way. For example, the precursors utilized to form thedielectric material 108 may be selected such that the precursors do notreact with, break down, or absorb the discrete conductive particles 106exposed thereto (if any) during the ALD-based dielectric formationprocesses. In addition, the precursors used to form the dielectricmaterial 108 are selected to be substantially thermally stable at theoperating temperatures (e.g., the temperature of the substrate 102) ofthe ALD-based dielectric formation processes, so as to substantiallylimit thermal decomposition of the precursors. In some embodiments, theprecursors utilized to form at least a portion of the dielectricmaterial 108 are selected to be thermally stable up to a temperature ofabout 200° C., such as within a range of from about 70° C. to about 200°C., or from about 70° C. to about 150° C. For example, the precursorsutilized to form at least a portion of the dielectric material 108 maycomprise at least one of hexachlorodisilane (HCDS) and TMA. Inadditional embodiments, the precursors utilized to form at least aportion of the dielectric material 108 are selected to be thermallystable at a higher temperature range, such as a temperature of greaterthan or equal to about 350° C., such as from about 350° C. to about 500°C., or from about 400° C. to about 500° C. Furthermore, in addition toreactivity and volatility considerations, the temperature at which theALD-based dielectric formation processes are conducted may depend on thethermal budget of the semiconductor device structure 100 in which thememory cell material 104 is to be used. To prevent damage to othercomponents of the semiconductor device structure 100, the othercomponents formed on, in, or over the substrate 102 should be compatiblewith the conditions (e.g., materials, temperatures, pressures) of theALD-based dielectric formation processes.

In some embodiments, a work piece (not shown) such as a carrier to whichthe substrate 102 is mounted may be placed into (or remain in fromprevious processing) a chamber (not shown). The chamber may be aconventional ALD reactor, examples of which are known in the art and,therefore, are not described in detail herein. The dielectric materialprecursor may be introduced into the chamber and may chemisorb to asurface of the substrate 102. The dielectric material precursor may beof sufficient volatility and reactivity to react with the surface of thesubstrate 102. The dielectric material precursor may be introduced intothe chamber with an inert carrier gas (e.g., He) to form a mixture ofthe dielectric material precursor and the inert carrier gas. Thedielectric material precursor may be introduced into the chamber for anamount of time sufficient for the reaction to occur, such as from about0.1 second to about 60 seconds, such as from about 1 second to 60seconds, or from about 2 seconds to about 60 seconds. The dielectricmaterial precursor may be introduced into the chamber at a flow ratewithin a range of from about 1 standard cubic centimeters per minute(sccm) to about 100 sccm, a temperature (e.g., a substrate temperature)within a range of from about 20° C. to about 500° C. (e.g., from about70° C. to about 200° C., from about 350° C. to about 500° C.), and apressure within a range of from about 0.0005 Torr to about 5 Torr (e.g.,from about 0.0005 Torr to about 1 Torr, about 0.05 Torr). In someembodiments, a monolayer of the dielectric material precursor is formedon the surface of the substrate 102 as a result of the chemisorption onthe surface of substrate 102. The monolayer may be self-terminatingsince a surface of the monolayer may be non-reactive with the dielectricmaterial precursor used in forming the monolayer.

Subsequent pulsing with inert gas removes excess dielectric materialprecursor (e.g., dielectric material precursor not chemisorbed to thesurface of the substrate 102) from the chamber. Purging the chamber alsoremoves volatile byproducts produced during the formation of thechemisorbed dielectric material precursor. The inert gas may beintroduced into the chamber, for example, for from about 2 seconds toabout 120 seconds, such as from about 5 seconds to about 120 seconds.After purging, the chamber may be evacuated, or “pumped,” to removegases, such as the excess dielectric material precursor and/or thevolatile byproducts. For example, the excess dielectric materialprecursor may be purged from the chamber by techniques including, butnot limited to, contacting the substrate 102 with the inert gas and/orlowering the pressure in the chamber to below the deposition pressure ofthe dielectric material precursor to reduce a concentration of thedielectric material precursor contacting the substrate 102 and/orchemisorbed dielectric material precursor. The inert gas and the amount(e.g., duration) of purging may be selected based on the properties(e.g., molecular weight, volatility, reaction byproducts) of thedielectric material precursor. The pump and purge sequences may berepeated multiple times.

After purging, the dielectric-material-forming reactant may beintroduced into the chamber and may chemically react with exposedsurfaces of the chemisorbed dielectric material precursor. Thedielectric-material-forming reactant may be of sufficient volatility andreactivity to react with the chemisorbed dielectric material precursor.The dielectric-forming reactant may be introduced into the chamber foran amount of time sufficient for the reaction to occur, such as fromabout 0.1 second to about 30 seconds, such as from about 5 seconds toabout 30 seconds. For example, the dielectric-material-forming reactantmay be introduced into the chamber at a flow rate within a range of fromabout 1 sccm to about 100 sccm, a substrate 102 temperature within arange of from about 20° C. and about 500° C. (e.g., from about 70° C. toabout 200° C., from about 350° C. to about 500° C.), and a pressurewithin a range of from about 0.0005 Torr to about 5 Torr (e.g., fromabout 0.0005 Torr to about 1 Torr, about 0.05 Torr). In someembodiments, the reaction between the chemisorbed dielectric materialprecursor and the dielectric-material-forming reactant is accomplishedby applying RF power while the dielectric-material-forming reactant isintroduced to the chemisorbed dielectric material precursor. The appliedRF power may, for example, be within a range of from about 20 Watts (W)to about 300 W, such as from about 20 W to about 200 W, from about 20 Wto about 100 W, from about 30 W to about 80 W, from about 40 W to about70 W, or from about 50 W to about 60 W. The RF power may be applied atleast one frequency within a range of from about 40 kilohertz (kHz) toabout 13.56 megahertz (MHz). In additional embodiments, the reactionbetween the chemisorbed dielectric material precursor and thedielectric-material-forming reactant is accomplished without theapplication of RF power.

Reaction byproducts and/or excess dielectric-material-forming reactantmay be removed from the chamber utilizing an additional pump and purgecycle. The additional pump and purge cycle may be similar to the pumpand purge cycle previously described for removing excess dielectricmaterial precursor and/or volatile byproducts following the formation ofthe chemisorbed dielectric material precursor. The additional pump andpurge cycle to remove the reaction byproducts and/or the excessdielectric-material-forming reactant may be the same as or differentthan the pump and purge cycle used to remove the excess dielectricmaterial precursor and/or the volatile byproducts. In some embodiments,the additional pump and purge cycle lasts from about 5 seconds to about30 seconds.

The ALD-based dielectric formation process described above may berepeated any number of times to form a desired thickness of at least aportion (e.g., the first portion 108 a) of the dielectric material 108on the substrate 102. By way of non-limiting example, the ALD-baseddielectric formation process may be repeated in sequence from about 2times to about 10 times to form the first portion 108 a of thedielectric material 108 to desired thickness. In addition, the ALD-baseddielectric formation process described above may be utilized to formmultiple portions of the dielectric material 108. For example, afterforming at least a portion of the discrete conductive particles 106(e.g., the first portion 106 of the discrete conductive particles 106)on the upper surface 110 of the first portion 108 a of the dielectricmaterial 108 (e.g., as described below), an additional ALD-baseddielectric formation process may be utilized to form the second portion108 b of the dielectric material 108 on exposed surfaces of the discreteconductive particles 106 and the first portion 108 a of the dielectricmaterial 108. The additional ALD-based dielectric formation process maybe the same as (e.g., utilize the same precursors, inert gases, andprocessing parameters) or may be different than (e.g., utilize at leastone of different precursors, different inert gases, and/or differentprocessing parameters) the ALD-based dielectric formation processutilized to form the first portion 108 a of the dielectric material 108.

Using ALD processes to form the dielectric material 108, including thedifferent portions thereof, facilitates desired surface termination ofthe dielectric material 108, facilitating the formation of discreteconductive particles 106 exhibiting desired properties (e.g., materialcompositions, sizes, shapes, spacing) on surfaces of the dielectricmaterial 108 (e.g., the upper surface 110 of the first portion 108 a ofthe dielectric material 108, the upper surface 112 of the second portion108 b of the dielectric material 108, the upper surface 114 of the thirdportion 108 c of the dielectric material 108). In addition, using ALDprocesses to form the dielectric material 108 facilitates the formationof distinct boundaries between the dielectric material 108 and thediscrete conductive particles 106 dispersed therein.

The ALD-based conductive particle formation process may includeconducting alternating and/or simultaneous pulses of at least oneconductive material precursor and at least oneconductive-material-forming reactant, with intervening and/or subsequentpulses of an inert gas (e.g., nitrogen, argon, helium, neon, krypton,xenon, and/or other gases that, although not inert, behave as inertunder the conditions of the dielectric formation process). Theconductive material precursor may comprise an organometallic compoundincluding a complex of metal (e.g., Ti, Zr, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo, W,Mn, Fe, Ru, Os, Co, Rh, Ir, Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, Ag, Au, Zn, Cd, B, Al, Ga,In, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb, As, Sb, Bi, or a combination thereof) and at leastone ligand. In some embodiments, the metal is at least one of Pt, Ta,Ru, Rh, Cu, Al, and Co. The ligand may be selected based on the desiredproperties of the discrete conductive particles 106. The size (e.g.,molecular weight) and chemical properties (e.g., reactive groups) of theligand may at least partially determine the size, shape, and spacing ofthe discrete conductive particles 106 formed using the conductiveparticle formation process. For example, larger (e.g., higher molecularweight) ligands may result in the formation of discrete conductiveparticles 106 exhibiting greater lateral spacing relative to one anotheras compared to conductive particles formed using conductive materialprecursors having smaller (e.g., lower molecular weight) ligands. Inaddition, different ligand reactive groups may result in the formationof different sizes (e.g., larger or smaller) of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 and/or different distribution densities (e.g., increasedor decreased) of the discrete conductive particles 106. Differentligands may react with different conductive-material-forming reactantsin different ways to control (e.g., modify, such as increase ordecrease) the size and/or the distribution density of the discreteconductive particles 106. The conductive material precursor may becommercially available or may be synthesized by conventional techniques.In some embodiments, the conductive material precursor is at least oneof (trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum,ethylcyclopentadienyldicarbonyl ruthenium,tricarbonyl(1,3-cyclo-hexadiene) ruthenium, tetrakis(dimethylamido)tantalum, cyclopentadienyldicarbonyl rhodium, dicarbonylcyclopentadienylcobalt, cupric hexafluoroacetylacetonate, cupric(N,N′ diisopropyl2-dimethylamine amidinate), tris-hexmethyldisilazane aluminum, diethylaluminum chloride, dimethylaluminum hydride, and tetrakis(dimethylamido)aluminum.

The conductive-material-forming reactant may be selected based on thechemical properties (e.g., metal composition, ligand) of the conductivematerial precursor. For example, depending on the chemical properties ofthe conductive material precursor, the conductive-material-formingreactant may comprise at least one of a reducing agent (e.g., formicacid, hydrogen, oxalic acid, hydrogen, NH₃) and an oxidizing agent(e.g., O₂, ozone, H₂O₂, hydrogen peroxide, nitrous oxide). In someembodiments, the conductive-material-forming reactant comprises at leastone of formic acid (CH₂O₂), oxalic acid (C₂H₂O₄), hydrogen (H₂), NH₃,and O₂.

The metal of the conductive material precursor and theconductive-material-forming reactant interact (e.g., react) with eachother and eliminate the ligand(s) of the conductive material precursorduring the conductive particle formation process. In some embodiments,the conductive material precursor and the conductive-material-formingreactant are selected such that reactions between the conductivematerial precursor and the conductive-material-forming reactant do notresult in the formation of discrete conductive particles 106 including adielectric material (e.g., a dielectric oxide). For example, thereactant may comprise a reducing agent (e.g., CH₂O₂, C₂H₂O₄, H₂, NH₃)that reacts with the conductive material precursor to form discreteconductive particles 106 (e.g., metal particles) substantially free ofdielectric metal oxides. Depending on the chemistry of the precursorsused to form the dielectric material 108 (i.e., including the differentportions thereof), additional reaction gases may be utilized to form oneor more portions of the dielectric material 108.

In additional embodiments, the conductive-material-forming reactant maybe omitted from the ALD-based conductive particle formation process. Forexample, depending of the conductive material precursor, the ALD-basedconductive particle formation process may include performing one or morepulses of the conductive material precursor, with one or more subsequentpump and purge cycles utilizing an inert gas (e.g., nitrogen, argon,helium, neon, krypton, xenon, and/or other gases that, although notinert, behave as inert under the conditions of the dielectric formationprocess). Put another way, the conductive material precursor may besufficiently reactive with itself under the conditions (e.g.,temperature, pressure) of the ALD-based conductive particle formationprocess to form a least a portion of the discrete conductive particles106 without the use of a separate conductive-material-forming reactant(e.g., a separate reducing reactant, a separate oxidizing reactant). Forexample, the ligand of a first conductive material precursor may reactwith the ligand of a second conductive material precursor (i.e., thesame as or different than the first conductive material precursor) toform discrete conductive particles 106 formed of and including the metalfirst conductive material precursor and the metal of the secondconductive material precursor. Depending on the characteristics of theconductive material precursor, omitting the use of at least an oxidizingreactant to form at least a portion of the discrete conductive particles106 may substantially limit or even prevent the formation of discreteconductive particles 106 including dielectric metal oxides.

The same precursors (e.g., the same conductive material precursor; andthe same conductive-material-forming reactant, if used) or differentprecursors (e.g., at least one conductive material precursor; and/or atleast one different conductive-material-forming reactant, if used) maybe used to form different portions (e.g., at least two of the firstportion 106 a, the second portion 106 b, the third portion 106 c) of thediscrete conductive particles 106. In some embodiments, differentprecursors are used to form at least two portions of the discreteconductive particles 106. In addition, the same inert gas or differentinert gases may be provided (e.g., pulsed) between the different pulsesof the conductive material precursor(s) and/or theconductive-material-forming reactant(s) (if used) to form differentportions (e.g., at least two of the first portion 106 a, the secondportion 106 b, the third portion 106 c) of the discrete conductiveparticles 106. In some embodiments, the inert gas utilized to form atleast one of the portions of the discrete conductive particles 106 isdifferent that the inert gas utilized to form at least one other of theportions of the discrete conductive particles 106.

One or more of the precursors of the conductive particle formationprocess (e.g., the conductive material precursor; and/or theconductive-material-forming reactant, if used) may be in a solid,liquid, or gaseous form at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Ifthe precursors are in a solid or liquid form at room temperature andatmospheric pressure, the precursors may be vaporized before beingintroduced to exposed components of the semiconductive device structure100. Vaporization of the precursors of the conductive particle formationprocess may be accomplished by conventional techniques, which are notdescribed in detail herein.

Selection of the precursors for any given portion of the discreteconductive particles 106 may depend on the desired properties of thememory cell material 104, on the other components of the memory cellmaterial 104, and on the temperature at which the conductive particleformation process to be conducted. The precursors utilized to form thediscrete conductive particles 106, including the different portionsthereof, are selected to be compatible with the various components ofthe memory cell material 104 exposed to the precursors during theconductive particle formation process. For example, the precursorsutilized to form the discrete conductive particles 106 may be selectedsuch that the precursors not react, break down, or absorb the dielectricmaterial 108 exposed thereto during the conductive particle formationprocess. In addition, the precursors (e.g., the conductive materialprecursor) utilized to form the discrete conductive particles 106 areselected to be substantially thermally stable at the operatingtemperatures (e.g., the substrate 102 temperature) of the ALD-basedconductive particle formation process, so as to substantially limitthermal decomposition of the precursors. In some embodiments, theprecursors utilized to form at least a portion of the discreteconductive particles 106 are selected to be thermally stable at up to atemperature of about 350° C., such as within a range of from about 200°C. to about 350° C., or from about 250° C. to about 320° C. For example,the conductive material precursor may be selected to comprise at leastone of (trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum;tricarbonyl(1,3-cyclo-hexadiene)ruthenium; dicarbonylcyclopentadienylrhodium; an amine salt of at least one of Pt, Ru, and Rh; and anamidinate salt of at least one of Pt, Ru, and Rh. In additionalembodiments, the precursors utilized to form at least a portion of thediscrete conductive particles 106 are selected to be thermally stable ata higher temperature range, such as a temperature of greater than about350° C., such as greater than or equal to about 400° C., greater than orequal to about 500° C., or from about 400° C. to about 500° C. Forexample, the conductive material precursor may be selected to comprisedicarbonylcyclopentadienyl cobalt. Furthermore, in addition toreactivity and volatility considerations, the temperature at which theALD-based conductive particle formation process is conducted may dependon the thermal budget of the semiconductor device structure 100 in whichthe memory cell material 104 is to be used. To prevent damage to othercomponents of the semiconductor device structure 100, the othercomponents formed on, in, or over the substrate 102 should be compatiblewith the conditions (e.g., materials, temperatures, pressures) of theALD-based conductive particle formation process.

In some embodiments, the conductive material precursor may be introducedinto a chamber (e.g., the same chamber used to form at least a portionof the dielectric material 108, or a different chamber) containing thesemiconductive device structure 100 including the dielectric material108 on or over the substrate 102, and may chemisorb to a surface of thedielectric material 108 (e.g., the upper surface 110 of the firstportion 108 a of the dielectric material 108). The conductive materialprecursor may be of sufficient volatility and reactivity to react withthe surface of the dielectric material 108. The conductive materialprecursor may be introduced into the chamber with an inert carrier gas(e.g., He) to form a mixture of the conductive material precursor andthe inert carrier gas. The conductive material precursor may beintroduced into the chamber for an amount of time sufficient for thereaction to occur, such as from about 0.2 second to about 120 seconds,such as from about 1 second to 90 seconds, from about 1 second to 60seconds, or from about 2 seconds to about 60 seconds. The conductivematerial precursor may be introduced into the chamber at a flow ratewithin a range of from about 1 sccm and about 100 sccm, a temperature(e.g., a substrate temperature) within a range of from about 20° C. andabout 500° C. (e.g., from about 20° C. to about 300° C., from about 50°C. to about 200° C., from about 70° C. to about 120° C.), and a pressurewithin a range of from about 0.0005 Torr to about 1 Torr (e.g., about0.05 Torr). In some embodiments, a monolayer of the conductive materialprecursor is formed on the surface of the dielectric material 108 as aresult of the chemisorption on the surface of dielectric material 108.The monolayer may be self-terminating since a surface of the monolayermay be non-reactive with the conductive material precursor used informing the monolayer.

Subsequent pulsing with inert gas removes excess conductive materialprecursor (e.g., conductive material precursor not chemisorbed to asurface of the dielectric material 108) from the chamber. Purging thechamber also removes volatile byproducts produced during the formationof the monolayer of the conductive material precursor. The inert gas maybe the same as or different than another inert gas utilized in the ALDprocess to form the memory cell material 104 (e.g., an inert gasutilized to form at least a portion of the dielectric material 108). Theinert gas may be introduced into the chamber, for example, for fromabout 2 seconds to about 180 seconds, such as from about 5 seconds toabout 180 seconds, or from about 5 seconds to about 120 seconds. Afterpurging, the chamber may be evacuated, or “pumped,” to remove gases,such as the excess dielectric material precursor and/or the volatilebyproducts. For example, the excess conductive material precursor may bepurged from the chamber by techniques including, but not limited to,contacting the dielectric material 108 with the inert gas and/orlowering the pressure in the chamber to below the deposition pressure ofthe conductive material precursor to reduce a concentration of theconductive material precursor contacting the dielectric material 108and/or chemisorbed conductive material precursor. The inert gas and theamount (e.g., duration) of purging may be selected based on theproperties (e.g., molecular weight, volatility, reaction byproducts) ofthe conductive material precursor. The pump and purge sequences may berepeated multiple times.

After purging, the conductive-material-forming reactant may beintroduced into the chamber and may chemically react with exposedsurfaces of the chemisorbed conductive material precursor. Theconductive-material-forming reactant may be of sufficient volatility andreactivity to react with the chemisorbed conductive material precursor.The conductive-material-forming reactant may be introduced into thechamber for an amount of time sufficient for the reaction to occur, suchas from about 0.1 second to about 120 seconds, such as from about 1second to about 60 seconds, or from about 5 seconds to about 30 seconds.For example, the conductive-material-forming reactant may be introducedinto the chamber at a flow rate within a range of from about 1 sccm toabout 100 sccm, a substrate 102 temperature within a range of from about20° C. and about 500° C. (e.g., from about 50° C. to about 200° C., fromabout 300° C. to about 400° C.) and a pressure within a range of fromabout 0.0005 Torr to about 1 Torr (e.g., about 0.05 Torr). In someembodiments, the reaction between the chemisorbed conductive materialprecursor and the conductive-material-forming reactant is accomplishedby applying RF power while the conductive-material-forming reactant isintroduced to the chemisorbed conductive material precursor. The appliedRF power may, for example, be within a range of from about 20 Watts (W)to about 100 W, such as from about 30 W to about 80 W, from about 40 Wto about 70 W, or from about 50 W to about 60 W. In additionalembodiments, the reaction between the chemisorbed conductive materialprecursor and the conductive-material-forming reactant is accomplishedwithout the application of RF power. In further embodiments, such as inembodiments wherein the conductive material precursor is reactive withthe chemisorbed conductive material precursor under the conditions ofthe ALD-based conductive particle formation process, aconductive-material-forming reactant separate from the conductivematerial precursor is not introduced into the chamber to chemicallyreact with the chemisorbed conductive material precursor.

Reaction byproducts and/or excess conductive-material-forming reactantmay be removed from the chamber utilizing an additional pump and purgecycle. The additional pump and purge cycle may be similar to the pumpand purge cycle previously described for removing excess conductivematerial precursor and/or volatile byproducts following the formation ofthe chemisorbed conductive material precursor. The additional pump andpurge cycle to remove the reaction byproducts and/or the excessconductive-material-forming reactant may be the same as or differentthan the pump and purge cycle used to remove the excess conductivematerial precursor and/or the volatile byproducts. In some embodiments,the additional pump and purge cycle lasts from about 5 seconds to about180 seconds.

The ALD-based conductive particle formation process described above maybe repeated any number of times to form the discrete conductiveparticles 106 to desired particle sizes and desired particle densitieson the dielectric material 108 (e.g., on the upper surface 110 of thefirst portion 108 a of the dielectric material 108). By way ofnon-limiting example, depending on the characteristics of the precursors(e.g., the conductive material precursor; and/or theconductive-material-forming reactant, if used) and the inert gas, theALD-based conductive particle formation process may be repeated insequence from about 2 times to about 500 times to form the discreteconductive particles 106 (e.g., the first portion 106 a of the discreteconductive particles 106 on the upper surface 110 of the first portion108 a of the dielectric material 108) to a desired average particle sizeand a desired particle distribution density. In addition, the ALD-basedconductive particle formation process described above may be utilized toform multiple portions of the discrete conductive particles 106. Forexample, after forming the second portion 108 b of the dielectricmaterial 108 on the first portion 106 a of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 (as well as on portions of the upper surface 110 of thefirst portion 108 a of the dielectric material 108 that remain uncoveredby the first portion 106 a of the discrete conductive particles 106), anadditional ALD-based conductive particle formation process may beutilized to form the second portion 106 b of the discrete conductiveparticles 106 on the upper surface 112 of the second portion 108 b ofthe dielectric material 108. The additional ALD-based conductiveparticle formation process may be the same as (e.g., utilize the sameprecursors, inert gases, and processing parameters) or may be differentthan (e.g., utilize at least one of different precursors, differentinert gases, and/or different processing parameters) the ALD-basedconductive particle formation process utilized to form the first portion106 a of the discrete conductive particles 106.

By using the ALD-based conductive particle formation process of thedisclosure, the discrete conductive particles 106 may be formed withoutthe use of a plasma treatment process. Put another way, the discreteconductive particles 106 may be formed through a non-plasma-assisted ALDprocess (e.g., through the conductive particle formation processdescribed above). The size, shape, and distribution density (e.g.,spacing) of the discrete conductive particles 106 may depend on theproperties (e.g., ligand reactivity, ligand molecular weight) of theconductive material precursors used to form the discrete conductiveparticles 106, on the deposition (e.g., pulse) times of the conductivematerial precursors, and on the temperatures (e.g., the chambertemperature, the substrate 102 temperature) utilized in the ALD-based(e.g., non-plasma-assisted ALD-based) conductive particle formationprocess.

In additional embodiments, at least one plasma treatment process may beutilized to enhance or facilitate the formation of at least a portion ofthe discrete conductive particles 106. For example, at least inembodiments wherein the characteristics (e.g., precursors, such as theconductive material precursor; temperatures; pressures; flow rates;exposure times; etc.) of the ALD-based conductive particle formationprocess result in the formation of an at least partially continuous(e.g., unitary) film of conductive material, a plasma treatment processmay be utilized to convert at least a portion of the at least partiallycontinuous film of conductive material into the discrete conductiveparticles 106. As another example, in embodiments wherein thecharacteristics of the ALD-based conductive particle formation processresult in the formation of the discrete conductive particles 106, aplasma treatment process may be utilized to modify at least one of thematerial composition, the size, the shape, and the distribution density(e.g., spacing) of the discrete conductive particles 106. The plasmatreatment process may include exposing the at least partially continuousfilm of conductive material and/or the discrete conductive particles 106to at least one plasma. The plasma may be selected based upon theproperties of the at least partially continuous film of conductivematerial and/or the properties of the discrete conductive particles 106.By way of non-limiting example, the plasma may comprise at least one ofan inert gas plasma (e.g., an argon plasma), a nitrogen-containingplasma, a reducing plasma, and a rare gas plasma. In some embodiments,the plasma treatment process includes exposing the at least partiallycontinuous film of conductive material and/or the discrete conductiveparticles 106 to an argon (Ar) plasma.

In some embodiments, discrete Pt particles are formed on at least onesurface of the dielectric material 108 using an ALD process. By way ofnon-limiting example, the surface of the dielectric material 108 may beexposed to (trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum and O₂ to form thediscrete Pt particles on the surface of the dielectric material 108. Thesurface of the dielectric material 108 may, for example, be exposed to(trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum carried by He at a flowrateof about 100 sccm and O₂ at a flow of about 300 sccm for a period oftime within a range of from about 2 seconds to about 30 seconds, such asabout 8 seconds. The (trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum mayadsorb (e.g., chemisorb) to the surface of the dielectric material 108to from a monolayer of (trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum, andthe O₂ may react with the monolayer of (trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienylplatinum to form the discrete Pt particles. Reaction byproducts andunreacted O₂ may be removed (e.g., evacuated from the ALD chambercontaining the dielectric material 108). The above ALD cycle may berepeated from about 2 times to about 300 times to achieve a desiredparticle size and a desired distribution density of the discrete Ptparticles, such as an aerial distribution density within a range of fromabout 5×10¹¹ particles/cm² to about 1×10¹³ particles/cm². In addition,the ALD process may employ a substrate 102 temperature of from about250° C. to about 320° C. (e.g., about 300° C.), and a pressure of aboutfrom about 0.05 Torr to about 0.09 Torr (e.g., about 0.07 Torr). Infurther embodiments, the above ALD process may be plasma-enhanced (e.g.,plasma-assisted). By way of non-limiting example, the surface of thedielectric material 108 may be exposed to a 100 W plasma including Arand O₂ at flowrates of about 100 sccm and about 300 sccm, respectively,for about 30 seconds, the flow of Ar may be stopped, the surface of thedielectric material 108 may be exposed to(trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum carried by He at a flowrateof about 100 sccm (i.e., while maintaining the flow of O₂) for fromabout 2 seconds to about 30 seconds (e.g., about 8 seconds) to form thediscrete Pt particles, and then reaction byproducts and unreacted O₂ maybe removed. Optionally, following the formation of the discrete Ptparticles, one or more additional processes (e.g., a plasma treatmentprocess, an annealing process) may be used to modify at least one of thesize, the shape, the material composition, and the distribution densityof the discrete Pt particles.

In additional embodiments, discrete Rh particles are formed on at leastone surface of the dielectric material 108 using an ALD process. By wayof non-limiting example, the surface of the dielectric material 108 maybe exposed to cyclopentadienyldicarbonyl rhodium to form the discrete Rhparticles on the surface of the dielectric material 108. The surface ofthe dielectric material 108 may, for example, be exposed tocyclopentadienyldicarbonyl rhodium carried by He at a flowrate of about50 sccm for a period of time within a range of from about 1 second toabout 15 seconds, such as about 2 seconds. Thecyclopentadienyldicarbonyl rhodium may react with the dielectricmaterial 102 and form (e.g., adsorb, such as chemisorb) the discrete Rhparticles on the surface of the dielectric material 102. Reactionbyproducts gas may be removed (e.g., evacuated from the ALD chambercontaining the dielectric material 108). The above ALD cycle may berepeated from about 2 times to about 300 times to achieve a desiredparticle size and a desired distribution density of the discrete Rhparticles, such as an aerial distribution density within a range of fromabout 5×10¹¹ particles/cm² to about 1×10¹³ particles/cm². In addition,the ALD process may employ a substrate 102 temperature of from about250° C. to about 320° C. (e.g., about 300° C.), and a pressure of aboutfrom about 0.03 Torr to about 0.07 Torr (e.g., about 0.05 Torr). Infurther embodiments, the above ALD process may be plasma-enhanced (e.g.,plasma-assisted). By way of non-limiting example, the surface of thedielectric material 108 may be exposed to a 60 W plasma including O₂ ata flowrate of about 300 sccm for about 30 seconds, the flow of O₂ may bestopped, the surface of the dielectric material 108 may be exposed tocyclopentadienyldicarbonyl rhodium carried by He at a flowrate of about50 sccm for from about 1 second to about 15 seconds (e.g., about 2seconds) to form the discrete Rh particles, and then reaction byproductsmay be removed. Optionally, following the formation of the discrete Rhparticles, one or more additional processes (e.g., a plasma treatmentprocess, an annealing process) may be used to modify at least one of thesize, the shape, the material composition, and the distribution densityof the discrete Rh particles.

In further embodiments, discrete Ru particles are formed on at least onesurface of the dielectric material 108 using an ALD process. By way ofnon-limiting example, the surface of the dielectric material 108 may beexposed to tricarbonyl(1,3-cyclo-hexadiene) ruthenium to form thediscrete Ru particles on the surface of the dielectric material 108. Thesurface of the dielectric material 108 may, for example, be exposed totricarbonyl(1,3-cyclo-hexadiene) ruthenium carried by He at a flowrateof about 50 sccm for a period of time within a range of from about 1second to about 15 seconds, such as about 2 seconds. Thetricarbonyl(1,3-cyclo-hexadiene) ruthenium may react with the dielectricmaterial 102 and form (e.g., adsorb, such as chemisorb) the discrete Ruparticles on the surface of the dielectric material 102. Reactionbyproducts gas may then be removed (e.g., evacuated from the ALD chambercontaining the dielectric material 108). The above ALD cycle may berepeated from about 2 times to about 300 times to achieve a desiredparticle size and a desired distribution density of the discrete Ruparticles, such as an aerial distribution density within a range of fromabout 5×10¹¹ particles/cm² to about 1×10¹³ particles/cm². In addition,the ALD process may employ a substrate 102 temperature of from about250° C. to about 320° C. (e.g., about 300° C.), and a pressure of aboutfrom about 0.03 Torr to about 0.07 Torr (e.g., about 0.04 Torr). Infurther embodiments, the above ALD process may be plasma-enhanced (e.g.,plasma-assisted). By way of non-limiting example, the surface of thedielectric material 108 may be exposed to a 60 W plasma including Ar ata flowrate of about 300 sccm for about 30 seconds, the flow of Ar may bestopped, the surface of the dielectric material 108 may be exposed totricarbonyl(1,3-cyclo-hexadiene) ruthenium carried by He at a flowrateof about 50 sccm for from about 1 second to about 15 seconds (e.g.,about 2 seconds) to form the discrete Ru particles, and then reactionbyproducts may be removed. Optionally, following the formation of thediscrete Ru particles, one or more additional processes (e.g., a plasmatreatment process, an annealing process) may be used to modify at leastone of the size, the shape, the material composition, and thedistribution density of the discrete Ru particles.

In yet further embodiments, discrete Co particles are formed on at leastone surface of the dielectric material 108 using an ALD process. By wayof non-limiting example, the surface of the dielectric material 108 maybe exposed to dicarbonylcyclopentadienyl cobalt and carbon monoxide (CO)to form the discrete Co particles on the surface of the dielectricmaterial 108. The surface of the dielectric material 108 may, forexample, be exposed to dicarbonylcyclopentadienyl cobalt carried by Heat a flowrate of about 500 sccm and CO at a flow of about 500 sccm for aperiod of time within a range of from about 1 second to about 15seconds, such as about 2 seconds. The dicarbonylcyclopentadienyl cobaltmay adsorb (e.g., chemisorb) to the surface of the dielectric material108 to from a monolayer of dicarbonylcyclopentadienyl cobalt, and the COmay react with the monolayer of dicarbonylcyclopentadienyl cobalt toform the discrete Co particles. Reaction byproducts and unreacted CO maythen be removed (e.g., evacuated from the ALD chamber containing thedielectric material 108). The above ALD cycle may be repeated from about2 times to about 300 times to achieve a desired particle size and adesired distribution density of the discrete Co particles, such as anaerial distribution density within a range of from about 5×10¹¹particles/cm² to about 1×10¹³ particles/cm². In addition, the ALDprocess may employ a substrate 102 temperature of from about 150° C. toabout 240° C. (e.g., about 190° C.), and a pressure of about from about0.03 Torr to about 0.07 Torr (e.g., about 0.05 Torr). Optionally,following the formation of the discrete Co particles, one or moreadditional processes (e.g., a plasma treatment process, an annealingprocess) may be used to modify at least one of the size, the shape, thematerial composition, and the distribution density of the discrete Coparticles.

Therefore, in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, a method offorming a memory cell material comprises forming a first portion of adielectric material over a substrate by atomic layer deposition.Discrete conductive particles are formed on the first portion of thedielectric material by atomic layer deposition. A second portion of thedielectric material is formed on and between the discrete conductiveparticles by atomic layer deposition.

Furthermore, in accordance with additional embodiments of thedisclosure, a method of forming a semiconductor device structurecomprises forming a memory cell material on a substrate by atomic layerdeposition, the memory cell material comprising discrete conductiveparticles interposed between at least two vertically adjacent portionsof a dielectric material.

The semiconductor device structure 100 including the memory cellmaterial 104 may be used in a wide variety of semiconductor devicesincluding, but not limited to memory devices (e.g., resistive memorydevices, such as RRAM devices). Semiconductor devices that include thesemiconductive device structure 100 in accordance with embodiments ofthe disclosure may included in a variety of electronic systems. Forexample, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an electronic system 200 accordingto embodiments of disclosure. The electronic system 200 may comprise,for example, a computer or computer hardware component, a server orother networking hardware component, a cellular telephone, a digitalcamera, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable media (e.g., music)player, etc. The electronic system 200 includes at least one memorydevice 202. The electronic system 200 may further include at least oneelectronic signal processor device 204 (often referred to as a“microprocessor”). At least one of the memory device 202 and theelectronic signal processor device 204 may include, for example, anembodiment of the semiconductor device structure 100 previouslydescribed with respect to FIG. 1. Accordingly, at least one of thememory device 202 and the electronic signal processor device 204 mayinclude an embodiment of the memory cell material 104, including thediscrete conductive particles 106 and the dielectric material 108. Theelectronic system 200 may further include one or more input devices 206for inputting information into the electronic system 200 by a user, suchas, for example, a mouse or other pointing device, a keyboard, atouchpad, a button, or a control panel. The electronic system 200 mayfurther include one or more output devices 208 for outputtinginformation (e.g., visual or audio output) to a user such as, forexample, a monitor, a display, a printer, an audio output jack, aspeaker, etc. In some embodiments, the input device 206 and the outputdevice 208 may comprise a single touch screen device that can be usedboth to input information to the system 200 and to output visualinformation to a user. The one or more input devices 206 and outputdevices 208 may communicate electrically with at least one of the memorydevice 202 and the electronic signal processor device 204.

The methods of the disclosure facilitate the controlled formation of amemory cell material 104 including conductive particles 106 exhibitingdesired material compositions, particle sizes, and distributiondensities. In turn, the controlled formation of the memory cell material104 facilitates the formation of a semiconductor device structure 100, asemiconductor device (e.g., the memory device 202, the electronic signalprocessor device 204), and a system (e.g., the electronic system 200)exhibiting desired electrical properties, excellent performance, andexcellent stability. The methods of the disclosure facilitate theefficient formation of memory cell materials 104 including differentmaterials (e.g., different dielectric materials and/or differentconductive particles) having distinct and identifiable boundariestherebetween (e.g., between the distinct conductive particles and thedielectric material(s); between different dielectric materials). In someembodiments, the distinct conductive particles 106 may be formed fromconductive material precursors without the use of a reactant gas and/orplasma treatment process, thereby reducing process costs and increasingprocess efficiency. The methods and structures of the disclosurefacilitate the effective scaling of various semiconductor devicestructures, such as the scaling of memory cells down to sub-20 nmdimensions.

The following examples serve to explain embodiments of the disclosure inmore detail. The examples are not to be construed as being exhaustive orexclusive as to the scope of the disclosure. While Examples 1 and 2describe discrete Pt particles, other discrete conductive particles(e.g., discrete Ru particles, discrete Ta particles, discrete Rhparticles, discrete Cu particles, discrete Al particles, discrete Coparticles) may be formed by appropriately selecting the conductivematerial precursor and the conductive-material-forming reactant (ifany), as previously described above.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Pt Particle Size and Distribution Density Based onALD Duration

The effect of ALD duration on the average particle size and thedistribution density of discrete Pt particles was analyzed. Aluminumoxide was formed over a substrate using the ALD-based dielectricformation processes of the disclosure, and then discrete Pt particleswere formed on the aluminum oxide using the ALD-based conductiveparticle formation processes of the disclosure. For one test thealuminum oxide was formed using 8 ALD cycles each employing TMA andozone, and for the additional tests the aluminum oxide was formed using8 ALD cycles each employing TMA and water. The discrete Pt particleswere formed on the aluminum oxide by evacuating a chamber containing thealuminum oxide for about 30 seconds, exposing the aluminum oxide to a100 W plasma including Ar and O₂ at flowrates of about 100 sccm andabout 300 sccm, respectively, for about 30 seconds, stopping the flow ofAr, and then exposing the aluminum oxide to(trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum carried by He at a flowrateof about 100 sccm (i.e., while maintaining the flow of O₂). A substrateholder (e.g., chuck) temperature setpoint of 300° C., and a chamberpressure of about 0.07 Torr were utilized to form the discrete Ptparticles.

FIG. 3A is a scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of discrete Pt particlesformed in a center region of deposition on aluminum oxide formed usingan ALD process employing TMA and ozone for a 5 second(trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum exposure duration. FIG. 3B isan SEM of discrete Pt particles formed in a center region of depositionon aluminum oxide formed using an ALD process employing TMA and waterfor an 8 second (trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum exposureduration. FIG. 3C is an SEM of discrete Pt particles formed in a centerregion of deposition on aluminum oxide formed using an ALD processemploying TMA and water for a 25 second(trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum exposure duration. As shownin FIGS. 3A through 3C, the average particle size and the distributiondensity of the discrete Pt particles increased with increased(trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum exposure duration.

Example 2 Sample Memory Cell Material

A memory cell material 104 formed by an ALD-based formation process ofan embodiment of the disclosure was subjected to morphology analysis.The memory cell material 104 included a dielectric material 108 having afirst portion 108 a and a second portion 108 b. Each of the firstportion 108 a and the second portion 108 b comprised aluminum oxideformed using the ALD-based dielectric formation processes of thedisclosure. Each of the ALD-based dielectric formation processesemployed 8 ALD cycles each utilizing TMA and water. Discrete conductiveparticles 106 were interposed between the first portion 108 a and thesecond portion 108 b of the dielectric material 108. The discreteconductive particles 106 comprised discrete Pt particles formed usingone of the ALD-based conductive particle formation processes of thedisclosure. The ALD-based conductive particle formation process wassubstantially similar to that described in Example 1. The FIG. 4 is atransmission electron micrograph (TEM) showing a partial cross-sectionalview of the memory cell material 104. FIG. 4 illustrates that the memorycell material 104 included discrete conductive particles 106 exhibitingdistinct boundaries dispersed throughout the dielectric material 108.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and have been described in detail herein.However, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the particularforms disclosed. Rather, the disclosure encompasses all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the followingappended claims and their legal equivalents.

1. A method of forming a memory cell material, comprising: forming afirst portion of a dielectric material over a substrate by atomic layerdeposition; forming discrete conductive particles on the first portionof the dielectric material by atomic layer deposition; and forming asecond portion of the dielectric material on and between the discreteconductive particles by atomic layer deposition.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein forming a first portion of a dielectric material over asubstrate by atomic layer deposition comprises: adsorbing a dielectricmaterial precursor to a surface of the substrate to form a monolayer ofthe dielectric material precursor; and exposing the monolayer of thedielectric material precursor to at least one reactant to convert themonolayer of the dielectric material precursor into a monolayer of thedielectric material.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprisingforming at least one additional monolayer of the dielectric materialover the monolayer of the dielectric material before forming thediscrete conductive particles.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein formingdiscrete conductive particles on the first portion of the dielectricmaterial by atomic layer deposition comprises: adsorbing a conductivematerial precursor to a surface of the first portion of the dielectricmaterial; and exposing the adsorbed conductive material precursor to anleast one of a reactant and additional conductive material precursor toconvert the adsorbed conductive material precursor into the discreteconductive particles.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein adsorbing aconductive material precursor to a surface of the first portion of thedielectric material comprises chemisorbing at least one of(trimethyl)methylcyclopentadienyl platinum,ethylcyclopentadienyldicarbonyl ruthenium,tricarbonyl(1,3-cyclo-hexadiene) ruthenium, tetrakis(dimethylamido)tantalum, cyclopentadienyldicarbonyl rhodium, dicarbonylcyclopentadienylcobalt, cupric hexafluoroacetylacetonate, cupric (N,N′ diisopropyl2-dimethylamine amidinate), tris-hexmethyldisilazane aluminum, diethylaluminum chloride, dimethylaluminum hydride, and tetrakis(dimethylamido)aluminum to the surface of the first portion of the dielectric material.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising modifying at least one ofan average particle size and a distribution density of the discreteconductive particles.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein modifying atleast one of an average particle size and a distribution density of thediscrete conductive particles comprises exposing the discrete conductiveparticles to additional conductive material precursor.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, further comprising exposing the discrete conductive particlesto at least one reactant after exposing the discrete conductiveparticles to the additional conductive material precursor.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein forming a second portion of the dielectric materialon and between the discrete conductive particles by atomic layerdeposition comprises: adsorbing a dielectric material precursor to thediscrete conductive particles and to exposed portions of the surface ofthe first portion of the dielectric material to form a monolayer of thedielectric material precursor; and exposing the monolayer of thedielectric material precursor to at least one reactant to convert themonolayer of the dielectric material precursor into a monolayer of thedielectric material.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprisingforming at least one additional monolayer of the dielectric materialover the monolayer of the dielectric material.
 11. The method of claim1, further comprising: forming additional discrete conductive particleson the second portion of the dielectric material by atomic layerdeposition; and forming a third portion of the dielectric materialdielectric material on and between the additional discrete conductiveparticles by atomic layer deposition.
 12. The method of claim 11,wherein forming additional discrete conductive particles on the secondportion of the dielectric material by atomic layer deposition comprisesforming the additional discrete conductive particles to exhibit at leastone of a different material composition, a different size, and adifferent distribution density than the discrete conductive particles.13. The method of claim 12, wherein forming the additional discreteconductive particles to exhibit at least one of a different materialcomposition, a different size, and a different distribution density thanthe discrete conductive particles comprises forming the additionaldiscrete conductive to comprise a different metal material than thediscrete conductive particles.
 14. A method of forming a semiconductordevice structure, comprising: forming a memory cell material on asubstrate by atomic layer deposition to comprise discrete conductiveparticles interposed between at least two vertically adjacent portionsof a dielectric material.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein forming amemory cell material on a substrate by atomic layer deposition comprisesforming the at least two vertically adjacent portions of the dielectricmaterial to comprise different material compositions than one another.16. The method of claim 14, wherein forming a memory cell material on asubstrate by atomic layer deposition comprises forming at least twoportions of the discrete conductive particles, a first of the at leasttwo portions of the discrete conductive particles adsorbed to a first ofthe at least two vertically adjacent portions of the dielectricmaterial, a second of the at least two portions of the discreteconductive particles adsorbed to a second of the at least two verticallyadjacent portions of the dielectric material.
 17. The method of claim16, wherein forming at least two portions of the discrete conductiveparticles comprises forming the first of the at least two portions ofthe discrete conductive particles to comprise a different metal materialthan the second of the at least two portions of the discrete conductiveparticles.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein forming a memory cellmaterial on a substrate by atomic layer deposition comprises forming thediscrete conductive particles on at least one surface of the at leasttwo vertically adjacent portions of the dielectric material by anon-plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition process.
 19. The method ofclaim 14, wherein forming a memory cell material on a substrate byatomic layer deposition comprises performing a least one plasmatreatment process to form the discrete conductive particles on at leastone surface of the at least two vertically adjacent portions of thedielectric material.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein forming amemory cell material on a substrate by atomic layer deposition comprisesforming the discrete conductive particles to be substantially free ofoxygen.
 21. The method of claim 14, wherein forming a memory cellmaterial on a substrate by atomic layer deposition comprises: forming afirst of the at least two vertically adjacent portions of the dielectricmaterial on a surface of the substrate; exposing the first of the atleast two vertically adjacent portions of the dielectric material to aconductive material precursor comprising a metal and at least one ligandto form a monolayer of the conductive material precursor; exposing themonolayer of the conductive material precursor to a reducing reactant toform the discrete conductive particles; and forming a second of the atleast two vertically adjacent portions of the dielectric material onexposed surfaces of the discrete conductive particles. 22.-34.(canceled)